Major Trade Routes and Their Impact on History
Trade Routes
Silk Roads
China to Europe and North Africa
- Worked best under large empires with control over the entire route
- Han China and Roman Empire in 200 CE
- Mongols
- Goods passed via Camel Caravan
- Luxury Goods
- Chinese Silk
- Luxury Goods
- Conduit of Culture
- Buddhism
- Merchants
- Spread and changed
- Outwards – more materialistic
- Inwards – Mahayana Buddhism
- Buddha became a deity
- Zoroastrian Fire Rituals
- Buddha became a deity
- Spread and changed
- Merchants
- Buddhism
- Diseases
- “Black Death” Bubonic Plague
- ½ of European Population died between 1346 and 1348
- Similar in China and Islamic World
- ½ of European Population died between 1346 and 1348
- “Black Death” Bubonic Plague
Indian Ocean Trade Routes
China to East Africa
- Common and Luxury Goods
- Ships could carry more items for less cost
- Luxury:
- Chinese Porcelain
- Southeast Asian Spices
- Cotton and Pepper from India
- Ivory/Gold from East Africa
- Common:
- Wheat
- Sugar
- Rice
- Monsoons
- Summer Winds Northeast
- Winter Winds Southwest
- Led to inventions
- Magnetic Compass – Bearings
- Astrolabe – Latitude
- Chinese Junks – Big Ships
- Growth
- Chinese Economic Revival
- Rise of Islam
- Added to merchant activity
- Culture
- Srivijaya Kingdom
- Southeast Asia
- Straits of Malacca
- Southeast Asia
- Swahili Civilization
- African merchant class
- Swahili “city-”states
- Islam
- Srivijaya Kingdom
Trans-Saharan Routes
North and West Africa and Mediterranean with Interior of Africa
- North
- Manufactured Goods
- Cloth
- Glasswork
- Books
- Manufactured Goods
- Southwest
- Agricultural
- Grain crops
- Yams
- Kola nuts
- Agricultural
- Arabian Camels allowed travel
- Culture
- Mali Empire
- Horse and Metal monopoly
- Salt/copper taxes
- Social hierarchy
- Royalty > Elite > Merchant > Military/Religious > Peasants > Slaves
- Mali Empire
Consequences of Trade
Cultural
- Religion and Linguistics
- Took Hold/Unified
- Syncretized
- Buddhist + Daoism
- Zen Buddhism
- Neoconfucianism
- Buddhist + Daoism
- Islam
- Merchants
- Birth of Swahili
- Bantu + Arabic
- Science + Technology
- Egypt
- Medical Advancements
- Ships
- Lateen Sail
- Stern Post Rudder
- Egypt
- Growth of Cities
- Hangzhou
- Increased due to trade
- Poetry and Literature increased
- Hangzhou
- Travelers
- Marco Polo
- Venice to China
- Kublai Khan
- Ambassador
- Captured and told stories
- Ibn Battuta
- Dar Al-Islam
- India, Persia, Mali, etc.
- Kept a Journal
- Dar Al-Islam
- Marco Polo
Environmental
- Agriculture
- Champa Rice
- Vietnam to China
- Terrace Farming
- Bananas
- Indonesia to Sub-Saharan Africa
- Allowed people to move into other regions
- Pressure on land
- Overgrazing – Zimbabwe
- City was abandoned
- Deforestation – Europe
- Ice Age → 1300s
- Overgrazing – Zimbabwe
- Champa Rice
- Disease
- “Black Death” Bubonic Plague
- Fleas and Bacteria
- Brought by Mongols
- Trade Routes
- Land/ships
- Caravanserai
- Land/ships
- Took 50% of Europe’s population
- More power to workers
- “Black Death” Bubonic Plague
Mongols
13th Century
- Small Cultural Footprint
- Genghis Khan
- Incorporated enemies instead of killing
- Expansion
- Attacked all populations
- No blueprints, just kept conquering
- Units
- 10,000 → 1,000 → 100 → 10
- Growing and Loyal due to fear
- If one person left, whole unit was killed
- Tolerated Religions
- China:
- 70 years to conquer (1209-1279)
- Mongols helped Southern China
- Mandate of Heaven
- Yuan Dynasty
- Only 100 years before overthrown
- Persia
- Short and Easy conquer
- Pillaged and slaughtered
- 1258 – Took Baghdad
- Over 200,000 killed
- Influenced by Persia
- Took ruling in use
- Islam
- Assimilated to Persian culture until Mongols became Persians